Stay away from Conan.

Based on the current situation, if the perpetrator planted the bomb on the floor of the hotel where the engagement party was to be held, there must have been a target he wanted to kill there, and that's why he planted the bomb. So, if the murderer wanted to take action, he would definitely use the bomb.

By remotely manipulating a bomb to disable the power supply to that floor, plunging the entire floor into darkness, the killer could easily carry out their crime.

Therefore, if we think about it the other way around, if the police deliberately leave a loophole, making the murderer think that a suitable opportunity has arisen to commit the crime, then the first thing the murderer would do would be to detonate a remote-controlled bomb.

Now that we know the bomb's detonator was that old cell phone, we can confirm it—

The killer will definitely send a message to this old-fashioned cell phone to trigger the remote-controlled bomb explosion.

Now that the police have defused the bomb and removed the old-fashioned cell phone separately, their next task is quite simple—

and so on.

Once the murderer feels the time is right and sends a message to this phone, the police can then trace the source of the message by looking at the message received on this old-fashioned phone, and thus find the murderer.

After all, besides this clue, one thing that can be confirmed is that the murderer is definitely in this building, and most likely among the guests present.

So, as long as the other party sends a message, the police can trace the source and, at most, check everyone present. They will definitely be able to determine who the murderer is.

Moreover, the whole plan goes far beyond that. To make the trap set for the murderer more realistic, once the police confirmed that the old-fashioned cell phone had received the message, the officers guarding the power switch would simultaneously pull the switch off, making it look like a bomb had successfully exploded, causing a power outage throughout the entire building. This would deceive the criminal and allow him to continue his actions without any suspicion.

In this way, as soon as the criminal takes action, the police can catch him red-handed, which would be even more direct evidence.

Therefore, the police operation was essentially a two-pronged plan: whenever the murderer made a move, they would be able to find clues and successfully apprehend him.

Thus, the officers assigned the task are now fully focused, waiting for their target to fall into the trap and expose their whereabouts—

After waiting a short while, sure enough, the police officer guarding the old-fashioned cell phone heard it ring with a notification sound, indicating that a message had arrived.

Immediately, the officer on this side who confirmed receiving the message quickly sent a signal to notify the officer on the other side of the power switch to turn off the power. Then, the officer on this side began to operate the old-fashioned mobile phone.

After all, since it was clear that the police would be using this phone to confirm the killer's information, they naturally had to prepare measures against the phone. Therefore, although the technicians on site were prepared somewhat hastily, they still managed to make some arrangements within the limited time. As a result, the police were able to identify the number of the other phone that was transmitting the message to this phone the moment it rang.

Therefore, if the murderer cannot be apprehended directly, the phone number identified as belonging to the murderer and used to send signals to the phone that served as the detonator becomes another crucial clue.

Moreover, according to common sense, once the bomb successfully explodes, the mobile phone, which serves as the detonator, will naturally be destroyed along with the bomb, making it impossible to find any clues. Therefore, the murderer probably never imagined that the mobile phone would be completely preserved and now under the police's surveillance.

With everything prepared, the police officers stationed at the power switch pulled the switch off for that floor, instantly cutting off power to the entire fifteen floors of the hotel. At this hour, not only the guests inside the banquet hall but also others outside were surprised by the sudden darkness caused by the power outage. Many guests screamed, causing some initial chaos. Fortunately, there were already many police officers present, and with their efforts to maintain order, and as people used their mobile phones as flashlights, the situation wasn't completely dark, and the chaos in the banquet hall gradually subsided.

"what happened?"

However, it was clear that the sudden power outage was quite strange to Conan and the others at that moment, so Conan couldn't help but wonder if it was some kind of omen.

Compared to Conan, Takato, who knew more about the situation, couldn't help but think that the police were planning to turn the tables on him. If they still didn't take any action after he warned Inspector Megure and the others, and the current situation was still caused by the culprit himself, then that would be very disappointing.

Therefore, Gao Yuan could only conclude that the current situation was the result of the police's deliberate guidance; it seemed that the police were setting a trap to lure the murderer into it.

So, in this situation, what I need to focus on is...

Where is Kyosuke Kazato now?

Because there was not enough light at the scene, it was impossible to see the situation in places a little further away. Therefore, I could only try to find it by feeling. After all, I had been paying attention to the direction of Kazato Kyosuke and quietly moved towards him. So I thought that normally I should not be far away from him.

As long as we can find that guy's trail, with me keeping an eye on him beforehand and with so many police officers present, we should be able to catch him red-handed and prevent him from making a desperate attempt to escape...

As Gao Yuan was thinking this, before he could even find any trace of Kazato Kyosuke, a short while later, the lights that had been turned off due to the power outage came back on, indicating that the power supply had been restored.

Has the police finished dealing with the matter and restored the power, or was the power outage just an accident?

Subconsciously, because the whole process ended so quickly and he hadn't personally witnessed the police deployment, Gao Yuan was a little unsure of the situation.

Especially, and even more importantly—

As expected, Kyosuke Kazato was still in the banquet hall as usual, and hadn't left at all!

So, what exactly is going on...?

"Yes, yes... What! Caught... Okay, I understand."

At that very moment, Officer Shiratori, also in the banquet hall, received a phone call. Upon answering, Officer Shiratori seemed quite surprised by the reaction on the other end of the line, and his voice suddenly rose slightly in surprise, though he eventually calmed down...

It seems that, based on this phone call, the police have successfully apprehended the murderer? (End of Chapter)